Tomato Chutney A. Gautam Mother goes on an exploration of our backyard garden under the perennial sun to seek the most tender 5 spheres of cherry tomatoes arrows of green peppers tear drops of garlic cloves and umbrella of cilantro She tends the soil 10 and brushes her fingers through the earth her bamboo basket gathers her love and labor She sings an old ghazal1 that once was my lullaby 15 as her pickings go to sleep She washes them under the rain of the sink before the heat of the frying pan softens their flesh 20 She sings and sings to drown the drone of the blender red speckled with green In her Texas kitchen Mother pours tamatar2 chutney 25 from India 1 a rhyming poem, also a song popular in many South Asian countries 2 tomato Question The second stanza influences the theme of the poem because it shows that Mother Responses A thinks that cooking for her family is importantthinks that cooking for her family is important B feels as though the plants deserve artistic carefeels as though the plants deserve artistic care C believes
